Magic Proof
by buttertroll
Summary: A simple snack for Umbriel turns into an odd discovery.


**Disclaimer: **Don't own it.

**Notes: **Tactician's name is the default of Mark, as I don't want to be accused of self-insertion and/or Mary Sue.

I love tough, quasi-psycho bitches like Vaida (her supports are _priceless)_. I kinda made myself write this, but I hope it doesn't feel too forced. I still had fun. :D

**Magic Proof**

**OOOOO**

"Open wide, Umbriel! Another tasty read!" Vaida crooned with genuine affection, heaving the Thunder tome into the air.

Canas, temporarily frozen by the woman's sudden action, only watched in horror as his recently acquired spell book arched in a perfect parabola to meet with a wet, toothy demise.

"Don't look so miserable, you worm," Vaida hissed, mounting her wyvern. "You had no use for it, anyway."

Not waiting for a response, the wyvern lord signaled her departure from the shaman's company with a mighty war cry, Umbriel's impressive wingspan stretching to each end of the small clearing they occupied as he prepared for liftoff. The wyvern cried out in response before taking to the sky.

Canas let out a long and tired sigh. Technically, she was right, as loath as he was to admit it. However, that gave her no right to have snatched it away from him—after all, he had been the one to fell their sage opponent. In addition—though he did not know where to begin when the situation involved invoking the powers of nature—he would have liked to have had an anima tome to call his own.

Adjusting his monocle, Canas hefted a Flux tome out of his satchel, thankful that Umbriel had not made a snack out of a book he could actually use. Although he wanted to further lament the loss of his Thunder tome, the battlefield was no place to do it. Hearing the sound of clanging metal in the distance, the shaman hurried into the trees, taking care to not alert any morphs of his presence.

**OOOOO**

Vaida chuckled to herself as she let another spear fly down into some unsuspecting morph, the artificial being too preoccupied in battling the red-haired lordling to notice Umbriel's shadow looming overhead. Eliwood raised his sword to her in thanks before parrying an axeman's blow. Feeling that the young noble would not allow himself to be slaughtered—not that she _cared_ what happened to Harken's little brat—the wyvern lord tightened her thighs around Umbriel, signaling for him to ascend.

They were engaged in a forested valley, and the sun was setting fast. With the combination of the surrounding mountains and foliage, the ground units would be in complete darkness within an hour. Reaching back into Umbriel's saddlebag, she readied a bundle of torches with the intention of handing them off to the next person she saw. Narrowing her eyes, she scanned the area, looking for any enemy air units she could take out. Seeing no one, she pulled on the wyvern's reins, motioning him downward slightly. Briefly, she wondered how Heath was fairing. Shaking her head at the thoughts so unwonted to her own, she flew to the west side of the valley—where she knew Merlinus was posted—in the hopes that Mark would also be there to guide her to more opponents.

The sun was setting behind the tallest mountain, its peak cutting a triangle shape into the bright sphere, like a piece of pie. Shielding her eyes with one hand and carrying a spear in the other, she flew forward, back straight and head high, a regular goddess on the battlefield.

The sunset lit the valley up to a bright vermillion, nearly blinding Vaida as she made her way westward. Without warning, Umbriel cried out, flailing around in the sky as Vaida dropped her spear to hold on to him, trying to assess the situation and calm the thrashing beast. Seconds later, a fireball struck the wyvern on the thigh, knocking him to the side. Instinct taking over, Umbriel flew in the opposite direction of the fire, finally falling to the ground some distance away.

Vaida fell into the thicket while Umbriel slid unceremoniously into a small growth of trees, crushing the fledglings into the ground and ending up in a clearing not too far away. Without assessing her wounds, she tried to stand, howling in pain as she stood on her legs only to have them both give out below her.

"Dammit!" she exclaimed, feeling around for a weapon that might have fallen nearby. There was a faint light shining through the hole Umbriel made in the forest's thick canopy, but everything more than a few feet away from her was hidden in darkness.

"Umbriel!" she called. When she received no response, a rush of panic ran through her. Pushing her pain aside, she stood up to search for her mount. Unfortunately, she only made it a few steps before she collapsed again.

She beat the ground in futility, as if it was the earth's fault Umbriel had been struck down.

"Lady Vaida!" a voice exclaimed, the vibration of footsteps running along the ground meeting her ear before the actual sound.

Harken pulled her up into a sitting position, his hands firm yet gentle.

"Remove your hands from me before I remove them _for _you," she hissed out, never one for physical contact.

Harken laughed a little and did as he was told. "Are you all right?"

Before she could answer, a flash of light illuminated the brush. Immediately, Harken drew his sword.

"Oh, no need for that, my fellow knight!" exclaimed Sain in a jovial manner as his horse trotted into the lit area. Priscilla, wielding a Torch staff, followed not too far behind him.

"Is anyone hurt?" the princess asked quietly, moving in front of the cavalier in order to examine the two blondes.

"Umbriel!" Vaida exclaimed before Harken could answer otherwise.

"Commander!" came another voice, this time from the air. Seconds later, Hyperion flew gracefully through the hole in the canopy to land on the ground. Jumping off of his mount, Heath was by Vaida's side in moments. "Are you okay? I saw you go down and I—"

"Will one of you maggots just go find Umbriel!" Vaida bellowed suddenly, knocking away Heath as he tried to help her up. Harken winced.

"A… all right," Heath said, defeated. Standing up, he followed the path of broken limbs on foot, disappearing into the darkness.

"You, pony girl," she continued curtly, pointing to Priscilla, "follow him."

The redhead nodded, her horse trotting over to the path Heath took.

"Might I suggest we get her back to camp?" Sain proposed, positioning himself upon his horse to make room for one more.

She snarled at him. "I'm not going anywhere until Umbriel is healed, you brainless clown."

Sain flinched.

"Sain," Harken began, "go tell Lord Mark what happened. I'll make sure the rest of us get back in one piece, so do not fret over reinforcements."

"Oh, reduced to the role of a lowly messenger. And I so hoped to be a hero when I heard that fateful scream," Sain lamented, bringing the back of his hand to his forehead.

"I'll show you screaming, boy," Vaida said icily, clinching her fists together and making a motion to stand.

The cavalier's eyes widened and he kicked his horse's sides, pulling a volte-face and retreating into the woods.

Vaida smirked as she settled back down on the ground. Hyperion moved to lay beside her, his tail a support to her back.

Harken chuckled and stood up, sheathing his sword. "You never cease to amuse me, Lady Vaida."

She glared at his back. "You will be quite amused when you find my spear embedded into your skull, should you continue belittle me in that fashion."

"I suppose I will—if I live to witness it, of course."

A sudden rustling in the bushes put an end to whatever banter would have transpired. As a precaution, Harken handed his spare sword to Vaida.

"Hey! It's Hyperion! See, Uncle Legault? I told you Heath would be okay!"

A short, green-haired girl pranced out of the bushes, trailed by a taller man.

"Hello there, you sweet thing…" Nino cooed as she approached the wyvern. Her affections were returned as the wyvern moved his head to meet her proffered hands.

"Sir Harken, Dame Vaida," Legault greeted with a nod, being faintly acquainted with the two through Lady Isadora and Heath, respectively. He moved toward them, taking special care to not get too close to Hyperion. "What happened?"

"I'm not quite sure," Harken said. "Vaida?"

"Umbriel and I were struck down by some mage," she seethed, clutching her fists at the recent memory.

"Where's Heath?" Nino piped, looking up from where she sat next to Hyperion's head.

"He and Lady Priscilla went to find Umbriel," Harken supplied for Vaida upon seeing her face grow irate due to all of the questioning.

"Oh."

An amicable silence settled between the four of them, Vaida finally relaxing herself against Hyperion's massive thigh. Nino continued to stroke the wyvern's scaly head while Legault patrolled the parameter, his acute eyesight piercing the depths of the gloom to search for approaching foes.

Harken cleared this throat. "The two of you wouldn't happen to have any vulneraries? I should have stopped Priscilla before she left, but she seemed rather intent on following Vaida's order to leave."

The wyvern lord snorted. "I've had worse."

"Oh! Oh!" Nino exclaimed, jumping up and startling Hyperion, who had been lulled into a light doze. "I can heal you."

Vaida rolled her eyes but did not protest, allowing the small girl to approach her.

"Let's see now…" Nino said, pulling out a simple Heal staff and kneeling down to the wounded woman. Closing her eyes and chanting loudly, she held the staff to the abrasions on Vaida's thighs.

A moment later, the girl opened one eye. "It's not working! Uncle Legault, what should I do?"

"I'm really not the one you should be asking," the man responded. Nevertheless, that did not stop him from halting his patrol to crouch down next to her.

Vaida scowled at them. "So, that idiot tactician wastes a perfectly good Guiding—" she began incredulously, but Legault was quick to interrupt her, frowning at her harsh tone.

"She was promoted not more than a week ago," the assassin said, putting a comforting hand on Nino's lowered head.

"I just don't understand…" the girl said. "That's exactly how Serra does it."

Legault snorted. "My dear, silly Nino," he began, combating his laughter, "Although I do not mean to make light of that girl's healing ability, all of that elaborate _screeching_ she does beforehand is just for show."

He took her hands and guided them to once again face the wyvern lord. "Just concentrate."

"All right!" Nino chirped, closing her eyes.

Vaida blanched at the almost fatherly display of affection while Harken just smiled warmly.

Moments later, a faint blue light emanated from the tip of the staff, the wyvern lord's wounds closing to leave dried blood in their absence.

"I sure hope you didn't break any bones," Nino said, putting her staff away. "Even if I did have a Mend staff, I don't think I'd know how to use it…"

Vaida stood up, moving her arms and legs in an attempt to locate a break or fracture. Finding none, she turned to the razed foliage. "Where _is _that boy?" she questioned, suddenly fearing for Umbriel.

"Shall we go look, Lady Vaida?" Harken asked.

"A fine idea. Just don't get in my way," she said, stomping off in the direction Heath and Priscilla had gone. Harken gestured to the other two and followed suit.

"Let's go, Hyperion!" Nino exclaimed while hopping onto the wyvern's back. Hyperion stood, walking on all fours to pursue Vaida. "You, too, Uncle Legault!"

Legault jogged ahead to walk abreast to the wyvern. He could hear a faint growling originating from Hyperion's elongated throat.

"Be nice!" Nino commanded jovially, playfully bopping the wyvern's head.

"I'm sure wyvern skin would make a fine pair of boots," Legault commented offhandedly, fingering the hilt of his killing edge and eying Hyperion.

"Heath would make boots out of _your _hide if that happened," Nino giggled.

"He'd have to catch me first."

**OOOOO**

Priscilla knelt down beside the unmoving wyvern and closed her eyes, muttering a prayer under her breath while she pointed her Recover staff toward the fallen creature.

"That's strange…" she whispered to herself.

"What is?"

"Oh!" she exclaimed, taken aback by Heath's sudden appearance beside her. "Well, the staff won't activate. The only two reasons for this are death…"

Heath gasped and his eyes widened.

"…Or that there are no major wounds to be healed. In fact, I think this," she jogged back to her horse and exchanged her Recover staff for a Heal, "would be better suited for the job."

Closing her eyes once again, Priscilla tried to activate the staff. Successful in her attempt, the crystal at the end of the staff flashed blue for a moment, healing what little wounds there were to be found.

Umbriel stirred, but did not move otherwise.

Priscilla and Heath stood. "Honestly," the girl began, "I think the impact of the fall hurt him more than whatever struck him down."

"But I saw fire!" Heath exclaimed as if he were reassuring himself that his eyes were still functioning properly. "I was so worried for Umbriel and the commander... A blow that large should have been fatal!"

"…I know," Priscilla said after a moment of contemplation. She had killed many wyvern knights in the past with a mere flick of her wrist.

"Umbriel!" Vaida exclaimed as she ran into the clearing, causing Heath and Priscilla to jump. She brought her hands up to lovingly caress the wyvern's massive back. Closing her eyes, she leaned against him. "Is he…?"

"No, Commander," Heath assured, moving to stand next to her. "Against all odds, Umbriel is quite alive. The impact just knocked him unconscious."

Vaida smiled briefly. "Against all odds, you say… How big was the blast?"

"From where I was, it looked like two shots from an Elfire tome."

"Hmm." She closed her eyes again. Umbriel's muscles flexed under her palms, and she could feel him moving to rise.

Turning to face her, he licked the scarred side of her face, spiking her hair up as his tongue traveled through her cropped locks.

Heath chuckled softly and Vaida glared at him, although it was not too effective due to her appearance. She smoothed her hair back down and turned to Priscilla. "…Thank you."

If the valkyrie was surprised at Vaida's sincerity, she did not show it. "…You're welcome."

"Hey!" Nino greeted as she, Harken, and Legault stepped into the clearing.

Hyperion, with Nino in tow, made his way over to his human counterpart.

"When did you two get here?" Heath asked, surprised to see the girl upon his mount and her "uncle" not too far behind her.

"We heard a wyvern go down and ran over here to see if we could help. Uncle Legault was so scared that—"

"Nino, don't bore him with details," Legault interrupted smoothly, following the wyvern to Heath.

"Is he all right?" Harken asked Vaida as he approached her.

"He is."

"If he truly is, might I suggest we all return to camp?" the knight asked, turning to address the entire group. "The sun will be setting very shortly and, although I believe we are in no danger of being overpowered, I would prefer to not be at a disadvantage should we be ambushed."

"We might as well," Heath agreed. "Commander?"

Vaida reached into Umbriel's saddlebag and pulled out the torches, pleased that they had not been damaged. She handed them to her subordinate and gestured to Nino. "Take these and the girl back to camp. Avoid flying over the forests; Hyperion might not be so lucky."

"All right." He handed the torches to Nino who lit one on the spot, holding it out to the side and away from the wyvern's head. "Scoot up a bit," he said, settling in behind her. Carefully, he took Hyperion's reins with one hand and wrapped his free arm around Nino's waist. "Hold on to that torch, okay?"

Legault looked at the two of them, amused at how awkward they appeared. "Don't set him on fire now, Nino."

Nino laughed; however, Legault was being quite serious. He had absolutely no difficulty conjuring up the image of the girl suddenly flailing back and setting the wyvern rider's hair on fire.

Apparently, so did Heath. He eyed Nino for a moment before opening his mouth. "Here," he began, taking the torch from the little sage, "use both hands to hold the reins. I'll hold on to this." To compensate for his loss of the reins, he tightened his legs around Hyperion.

"Will you not be flying with us, Commander?" Heath asked, noticing Vaida made no move to mount her wyvern.

"We will be walking back. Tell Mark to expect us within an hour. Fly as high as you can—that torch will make you an easy target."

"Of course," Heath said, rather displeased that his commander thought him that much of a novice—especially now that another life was in his hands. He removed his free arm from Nino's waist to tug back sharply on Hyperion's reins, causing the wyvern to extend his wings and prepare for flight. "Just pull back again and we'll be off," he told the girl, putting his arm back around her.

"Okay!" she all but squealed, her excitement finally getting the better of her. With shaking hands, she grabbed the reins and gave them a good tug. Hyperion shot up into the air, a faint "eek!" from Nino lost within the billowing wind under the wyvern's wings.

"I'll be keeping this," Vaida said firmly, slightly raising the steel sword Harken had given her earlier in indication as to what she was referring.

"That's all right with me," he told her, though he knew that she would have kept it without his permission.

Priscilla rummaged around through her horse's saddlebag and pulled out a long rod with a red crystal sphere encased in a golden web at the very tip. Holding the Torch staff above her, she fired a flare high into the air and a good distance away, providing the group with ample light. "That should guide us at least half way," she thought aloud, should anyone care to know. Getting back up on her horse, she put the staff away and procured a Thunder tome. "…I am ready whenever you are."

"Let's go then. I've wasted enough of my time today," Vaida sneered, leading Umbriel forward.

Harken gave the redheaded girl a gentle and appreciative smile, as if to make up for the wyvern lord's brutal and rather crass nature. "She's actually quite nice when you get to know her." With that, he left the clearing.

Legault came to stand beside Priscilla. "No, she isn't," he told the girl quietly, gesturing to the path Harken had taken while pointing to his temple with his index finger and twirling it around.

The sides of Priscilla's mouth rose slightly, and her chest moved in time with her silent laughter. "Heath tells me that he finds her acidic tongue… refreshing. I, however, am still rather… frightened of her. Perhaps there is truth to both yours and Sir Harken's accounts."

"I would not risk my head to find out."

Priscilla's laughter was audible this time, as light as the feather that rested behind her ear. "Nor would I. Would you like to ride with me, Luga—" she stopped suddenly and blushed at her error. Although the scarred man had been a topic of conversation between herself and Heath a few times before, she could not correctly recall his name.

"Legault," he provided, extending his hand to shake hers.

"…Priscilla," she responded in turn, briefly taking his hand. "I do apologize. Would you like a ride, _Legault_?"

"As tired as my feet are, I do believe it would be safer if I brought up the rear. Thank you for the offer."

She nodded in understanding and kicked her horse into a light trot, retracing her path from earlier.

Legault examined the forest behind him, and, seeing no danger, turned to follow the princess.

**OOOOO**

The next morning, Vaida awoke in a foul mood; she had spent most of the night lying awake and pondering what could have possibly saved Umbriel. As pleased as she was that both of them were alive, it vexed her greatly to simply name luck as their savior.

Dressing herself, she rose to leave the tent.

It was a very bright morning, and she was genuinely surprised that Mark had not sent someone to rouse the troops so that they could be out of the valley by sundown. Perhaps the battle took a lot out of their little ragtag army? As she was absent for its conclusion, she could only fathom so many answers to that question.

She wandered at a leisurely pace to where the wyverns were kept, noticing with faint amusement that both Umbriel and Hyperion were out like babies. Making her way deeper into the camp, she allowed her nose to lead her to Merlinus.

The merchant jumped as she entered his line of vision and weakly eked out, "G-good m-m-morning, Dame Vaida…" He would never, _ever _get used to her presence in Lord Eliwood's army. However, regardless of his discomfort, he handed her two roasted dumplings.

"And a fine morning to you, too, little man. You _are_ good for something." She smiled venomously, yet she took the dumplings with an almost childish excitement in her eyes.

It was as close to a 'thanks' as Merlinus would ever receive, and, quite frankly, he was glad for every moment that did not involve her threatening to remove his head.

Although she would have normally gone back to her tent to eat in peace, she had an overwhelming desire to discuss last night's events with Heath, for the man had seen what happened and perhaps he could give her a more detailed account of what had transpired.

Surviving an Elfire tome, of all things. Perhaps she really _was_ indestructible. No, she would not allow a freak accident to bolster her ego—although, being entirely magic proof did appeal to her, now that she thought about it. As she approached the center of camp, she entertained herself with images of Umbriel screeching with glee as he plowed through encampments of magic users—all resembling Canas, of course—biting the heads off of each and every one as they tried, in futility, to halt the beast with their spells.

She spotted Heath easily enough; he was on the far side of the common area engaged in conversation with that aggravating thief and the blue-haired woman rumored to be Harken's. She approached them rather loudly, hoping that she would not actually have to speak to have her presence acknowledged. Legault was the first to notice her, and he pointed over Heath's shoulder, for the wyvern rider and the paladin had their backs to her.

"Good morning, Commander!" Heath greeted while turning around.

"I need to talk to you, boy," Vaida said, ignoring the presence of the other two. "_Now_." To emphasize her point, she grabbed his unarmored arm and began to drag him away.

Too surprised to protest—not that he would ever disobey his commander—he glanced over his shoulder to give an apologetic look to Legault and the Lady Isadora.

"Commander, might I ask what is so important? Is something wrong with Umbriel?"

Feeling that there was ample distance between them and unwanted ears, Vaida stopped. "I want you to tell me exactly what you saw."

"Well, there isn't much more to say than what I said last night, Commander. Honestly. I saw two bursts of what appeared to be an Elfire spell strike Umbriel's underside, and then I watched the two of you crash into the woods."

"That's all?"

"Yes. But, now that I think about it," he began, making a face reflecting deep contemplation, "The flames really didn't hit him. Well, I mean, they did _hit_ him, but they didn't actually _burn_ him. It was as if something was simply striking him from below. When Priscilla and I found him, he was unconscious, but he wasn't really wounded. At least, not as wounded as he should have been. Just a few scratches from falling."

Vaida stood for a moment and absorbed the information.

"…Were you wearing a talisman or something?" Heath offered, interrupting her thoughts.

"No. A little trinket like _that _couldn't protect a maggot from a match."

Heath laughed, a silly thought coming to mind. "Then was it something he ate?"

Vaida froze.

"Commander?"

She chuckled softly. "You have got to be kidding me…" she said to herself, her laughter becoming louder.

"…Commander?"

"Meet me by the wyverns in an hour," she ordered briskly before turning around and jogging away.

Bewildered, Heath just watched her go.

**OOOOO**

Naturally, she found him under a tree, absorbed in some book.

"You!" Vaida barked at Canas unceremoniously, stomping over to where he sat.

He jumped a little and clutched the book to his chest. "Er, yes?"

"Stand up, troll. I'd like to have a word with you," she commanded, hands on her hips.

Nervously, the shaman stood, taking care to move so the book would be out of her reach.

"I trust you heard about the rest of my evening yesterday—you know, after I left your ever so _magnificent_ company."

"I did," he confirmed, smiling uneasily. "My niece told me."

"Good. Then I can get to the point: I have a hypothesis for you."

"Oh?" he asked, genuinely interested in what she had to say. Scientific endeavors did not strike him as something Vaida would enjoy—much less condone—and he was quite curious as to what compelled her to approach him without the intent of acquiring a free meal for her wyvern.

"If a spell tome is consumed by a wyvern, then they are protected against—if not completely impervious to—magic attacks. How's that for impressive, worm?"

"You mean that Thunder tome really…?"

"_Yes_," she seethed, loathing to directly admit that she had been saved by that which she so despised. "I can assure you that were it not for your stupid book, I would not be here."

Canas' face lit up, his eyes giddy. "That's amazing! Groundbreaking! Did you know that no one has ever even _tried_ to solve the mystery of wyvern susceptibility to magic? No one! And the answer is just—"

"Shut _up_!" she commanded, picking him up by the collar of his cloak and raising him into the air, shaking him around just enough to unsettle his monocle. "Listen to me," she said, setting him back down on the ground but not letting go of his cloak, "I would like to do a little experiment. I do not know how long the effects last, nor do I know if it would work for all types of magic. Meet me by the wyverns later. In exchange for your cooperation, I'll let you take notes."

Once again his face lit up, excited at the prospect. "Quid pro quo, I see. I'll definitely be there."

"Good. If you're late," she warned, releasing her hold on him, "I'll have your head."

**OOOOO**

The chain of events that had transpired throughout the morning brought her back to Merlinus' supply wagon. However, the timid merchant was nowhere to be found. Instead, there was the little sage girl that healed her, mumbling to herself as she sorted what appeared to be the spoils from yesterday's battle. Immediately, Vaida spotted her goal: a small stack of unused tomes.

Clearing her throat, she approached the girl. However, she did not respond.

Vaida frowned. "Nemo!"

The girl jumped and whirled around. "Um, it's Nino…"

"Whatever. Just give me those books."

"These?" Nino asked, pointing to the five books: Flux, Fire, Lightning, and two Shines.

"Yes."

"…Why? You don't use magic."

"Do I _need_ a reason?" Vaida asked, giving the girl her best glower.

Nino visibly cowered, yet she stood her ground. "I guess not. But, Uncle Merlinus is really finicky about the inventory and Lord Mark is usually the one to distribute weapons… What are you going to do with them, anyway?"

"I'm going to feed them to the wyverns," she said, never one for lying.

The girl looked interested. "Why?"

"Because."

"Because why?"

"How about this…" Vaida proposed, putting her hands on her hips and bending down so she was only centimeters away from Nino. "You give me those books—no questions asked—and I take you along with me. I may even have a use for you."

Curiosity getting the better of her, Nino agreed.

Walking past the girl and to the wagon, Vaida bent down and hefted all five books into her arms. "Follow me."

**OOOOO**

"Heath! Uncle Canas!"

"Nino?" They both asked at the same time as the girl approached them, Vaida at her side.

Heath was situated between the two wyverns, petting them both as they each vied for his attention. A little ways away from the green-haired man, Canas sat while scribbling down notes, fascinated at the wyverns' behavior. He looked up to greet his niece, but did not move otherwise.

Wasting no time, Vaida called Umbriel over to her. He sniffed at the books in her arms, but she made no motion to relinquish them just yet.

"Get over here, you three-eyed dolt," she ordered, addressing Canas.

Shrugging off his new name, the shaman stood, brushed off his robes, and did as he was told.

"Can you… oh, what would you call it? Weaken your attacks?"

"I believe I can. Although I think that would actually require more concentration than just letting the spell loose."

"I don't care if it takes thrice the concentration. Just do it. Aim for his hind legs—his hide is strongest there."

Nodding, Canas opened his Flux tome and tore out a page, clutching it in his hand as he muttered an arcane litany under his breath. Trying hard to disperse most of the energy that was rapidly converging in front of him, Canas fired a weak shot at Umbriel, the crest under him glowing with a fainter light than usual.

The wyvern screeched in pain, flailing suddenly and whipping his tail back in preparation to strike the shaman. Canas rolled out of the way as Nino shrieked.

"Dammit, troll!" Vaida yelled, stomping over to where he lay, breathless with his face to the ground. "I told you to make it weak!" 

"It was!" Canas returned meekly.

The meaty part of Umbriel's upper thigh smoked, a red and raw wound. He turned around to lick it.

"Nemo, go heal him!" Vaida barked, still looking down at Canas. Not bothering to correct the woman, the girl ran over to the wyvern.

"I suppose that answers the question of how long it lasts…" the shaman stated weakly, sitting up and adjusting his monocle.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, the effects must have already… passed… though him."

"…Oh. You could have said that before you attacked!" she screamed, swinging her leg back in preparation to kick him.

"Commander!" Heath exclaimed, running between the two of them.

"Pfeh!" she spat, halting her attack.

"He didn't know." Heath turned and offered his hand to Canas, who took it gratefully. "Are you all right?"

"Oh, yes," the shaman smiled, grinning off his pain. "I can assure you I have experienced much worse."

"Commander, I really think it would be best if we stopped."

"Hmph. Get Hyperion over here." Vaida shrugged him off and left to go retrieve a spell book.

Reluctantly, Heath whistled to draw the wyvern's attention and gesticulated for the creature to approach.

"That's amazing…" Canas whispered as Hyperion drew closer and bumped his head against Heath's in an amusing display of affection. "How long have you had him?"

"Since I was a trainee—it's almost like we grew up together."

"Hmm. Are all wyverns so subservient?"

Heath frowned. "Not subservience. It's more like a partnership." He paused for a moment, mulling over his next comment. "As for your question, one cannot just go out and try and tame a wild wyvern—that's tantamount to suicide. It was a part of my training to raise him from a hatchling."

Canas was scribbling down notes. "Hatchling, you say? Exactly how long has it been, then?"

"Oh, about nine years."

"Nine years? How old were you when you started training?"

"Ten," Heath replied offhandedly.

"Ten!"

"Don't act so surprised, worm. It is best for both the wyvern and the rider to form a relationship early on in life," Vaida said, holding all five books with Nino and Umbriel on either side of her. Taking the first book from the stack—Shine—she extended it to Hyperion.

The wyvern stiffed it, but made no move to consume it. Vaida huffed and raised the book to her mouth, making a motion as if to bite it. Impatiently, she shoved it back at Hyperion, who opened his mouth. The wyvern lord gently placed the book into Hyperion's gaping maw, patting him on the snout to signal for him to swallow.

Canas looked like it physically hurt him to stand by and do nothing while a poor, defenseless book met a tragic end. Nino, however, took her Fire tome out and examined it, as if evaluating how it would taste.

"Oh, Hyperion…" Heath sighed. He really didn't approve of where this was going.

Vaida tossed the other Shine tome towards Umbriel, who opened his mouth wide, used to the papery snack.

Canas blanched—the darker wyvern always seemed to enjoy the destruction of books. Just like his brutish master…

Vaida gestured to Nino and her uncle. "Follow me."

The wyvern lord wandered a little ways away, turning to face the wyverns, who where a few meters apart. "You might want to move, Heath," she told her subordinate, who was staring blankly off into the distance.

He jogged across the clearing to stand by her.

"Well, fire away," Vaida ordered.

**OOOOO**

_Wyverns, contrary to popular belief, are quite friendly if around the right people. At the very least, trained ones are. I am privileged enough to be observing two at ease with a human man—they seem to be competing for his attention. It is rather endearing. _

_Vaida's proposed hypothesis may be correct. But it appears that, following digestion, the effects of tome consumption wear off. I am still rather smarting from Umbriel's provoked attack._

_Bern_'_s military wyverns are acquainted with their partners very early in life_

_-Heath(10)_

_-Vaida(?)_

_-perhaps acquire a wyvern for Hugh (wyvern mounted m. user? How peculiar… yet strangely appealing)_

_magic_ _triangle plays a role in 'tome consumption' _

_-anima v anima negated (not officially tested)_

_-dark v light reflected_

_-anima v light minimal damage_

_It can be assumed that these results can be a base for 'rules'. I should hope Vaida will allow me to further examine the wyverns… She grows rather agitated as these tests continue…_

Looking up from his sloppy longhand, Canas bit his lip and tried to think of what to write next. It was a rather paltry amount compared to the amount he was accustomed to writing. Perhaps he could expound later.

"Matthew says the four of you are over here setting fire to wyverns."

The shaman turned around to see Legault enter the area with a skip to his step.

"Oh, don't stop on my account," he said when no one confirmed Matthew's observations. "I'd like to watch."

"Actually, Uncle Legault, I think we're done for the day," Nino said, holding up all that remained of her Fire tome; the hard cover flopped about as she shook it around. Canas' Flux tome had suffered the same fate.

"Do inform me next time this happens," he requested, sauntering over to where Canas, Heath, and Nino stood. Hyperion growled as the thief approached. Legault just grinned back, using Heath's shoulder as a rest for his elbow, daring the wyvern to try something.

"Leave Hyperion alone," Heath said with an agitated look on his face, noticing the other man's mocking posture. "If you are the one to initially provoke him, I will not help when he attacks. Unless, of course, I am helping _him_ maul _you_."

"Hmm. I'd much rather maul you, Heath—if that's what they're calling it nowadays."

Heath shook Legault off of him immediately.

The thief just smirked, always pleased to have the last laugh.

"Get lost, you frail twig of a man," Vaida hissed while leading Umbriel over to the group. "This does not concern you."

Legault narrowed his eyes at her but said nothing, opting instead to stand by passively. He knew that his indifference would anger her more than any retort.

She sized the thief up for a moment, shaking her head and smirking. Brushing him off, she turned to Canas.

"Yes?" he asked her, feeling rather uneasy under her scrutiny.

Without warning, she snatched the paper from his hands and tore it in half, wadding up each scrap and tossing one to each wyvern, the creatures opening their mouths only to have them snap shut seconds later, an audible swallowing sound coming from both.

"I said you could take notes. However, I don't believe I ever said you could keep them."

With that, she turned to walk in the direction of the camp, Umbriel trailing dutifully behind her, her perpetual shadow.

Heath, her prideful and endearingly loyal subordinate. Canas, in constant pursuit of knowledge and Umbriel's means for free desserts. Nino, that stupid little girl whose deep eyes belied her innocent manners and spoke of untold intellect. Legault, that treacherous assassin and thief, hell-bent on stealing Heath away with his quick tongue.

Bah. She wanted nothing to do with them. Truly.

**OOOOO**

**Comments: **It was so tempting to liken the sun to a BURNING PIE OF DEATH, caps and all. But I didn't. Be proud. About the difference between "Mend" and "Heal"… I just kinda made that up. It makes sense if you think about it.

I'm not sure if matches are an anachronism. Regardless+2 res is just a drop in the ocean for what wyvern riders need to not get completely _pwned_ by magic. That's right. Pwned.

I think I could have (or should have) added more detail, but I also think this is already too long. Ho hum.

Reviews/comments appreciated. Tell me what you _really_ think.


End file.
